When Your First Thought in the Morning Is Dread

Jenny Allen looked successful from the outside. She

was a Bible teacher who spoke to thousands of people about faith

on the inside. Her own mind was a crowded, anxious place full of

what-ifs. She just couldn't shut She started paying attention to

how the spiral worked. It almost always began the same way with a

single thought. done anything at all. The truth was, the battle

came down to the very first thought, long before the spiral

reached the bottom. We'll come back to what she did with that,

but first,

welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger.

There are mornings I wake up, and the week's already on me.

Before my feet hit the floor, I'm running Sunday's message and

a new speaking opportunity I know are coming. None of it has

happened yet. It's all still in my head at six in the morning.

And I know better than that. I've taught on this, and I can

still lie there and let the whole week run at me before I've

prayed a word. Some people wake up with a knot in their stomach

before their feet ever hit the floor. Something you were

worried about last night is right there waiting on you.

Something you have to do today feels too big to start, and the

list begins running before you're all the way awake. And

the first thing most of us do is reach for the phone, email, or

whatever came in overnight. So within about 90 seconds of

opening our eyes, the day has already told you what to fear.

David wrote something a long time ago about his mornings.

Psalm 143.8

Look at what David asks for, and when he asks for it, each

morning, he wants it first thing. Of all the voices that could get

to him first, he wants it to be God telling him about unfailing

love. Then look at the second half. Show me where to walk.

That's a request for the next few steps, which is about as far

ahead as any of us can see anyway. And notice what David

never claims. He doesn't say the dread was gone. He wrote this

psalm while men were hunting him. Read a few verses earlier, and

he said his spirit is crushed and his heart is numb with fear.

So the man asking to hear about unfailing love in the morning is

a man who woke up afraid. Which means part of this, I believe,

is a sequencing problem. The feeling shows up whether you

approve it or not. you get to decide is what gets the first 10

minutes. So tell God the truth about what you're afraid of

today. Say whatever's waiting on you in whatever words come out

of your mouth. Then ask him for the strength for one hour. It

only needs to be an hour at a time. Most of what you're

dreading at 6 in the morning is about 4 o'clock in the afternoon,

and God hasn't handed out 4 o'clock's grace yet. He gives it

when 4 o'clock gets there. Jenny learned that you don't have to

follow the first thought down. You can stop it the moment it

shows up and ask whether it's even true. Then you hand it to

God and answer it with what He has said. She built her life

around one line from Paul that we can take every thought

captive and make it obey Christ. The anxiety won't necessarily

vanish right away. But she found she had a choice at the top of

the spiral she never knew she had, and catching that first

thought was where her freedom started. Look at where she found

the leverage. At the top. One thought before it had pulled in

the next five. with 10 things at once, and I guarantee you,

you'll lose that argument. At the top, there's only one thing,

and you can ask whether it's even true. And for a lot of

people, the morning is the top of the spiral. The knot you wake

up with is number one. Here's today's challenge. Tomorrow

morning, before you touch your phone, do two things. Tell God

what you're dreading in whatever words come out. Then pray

David's line back to him. Let me hear of your unfailing love this

morning. And give it one week, seven mornings of God getting

the first slot ahead of the news in the email, and see what the

second week feels like. Father, you know which of us woke this

morning with the knot already there. Thank you that David

wrote this psalm while he was afraid, which tells us you are

not waiting on us to feel better before we talk to you. For

everybody listening who dreads the first ten minutes of the day,

be the first voice they hear tomorrow. Show them where to

walk and give them the strength for the next hour. In Jesus'

name, amen.

to you, would you take a minute and leave a rating and review?

It helps more people find these devotions, and it only takes a

moment. I'd be so grateful. Thanks for joining me on Daily

Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, you may not get to

pick the feeling, but you do get to pick what gets the first ten

minutes. Give God the first slot tomorrow. Come back next time

for more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth.

Until then, God bless and have a great day.